Illustrative content written for a fictional insurer: the advice is general and replaces neither your policy nor a professional.
Why it is compulsory
Algeria faces several natural hazards at once: part of the north lies in an active seismic zone, wadis run through whole towns, and unstable slopes put some neighbourhoods at risk after heavy rain.
Two disasters made the case. In November 2001, the Bab El Oued floods devastated a district of Algiers. In May 2003, the Boumerdès earthquake damaged a very large number of homes. Both times, most of the property hit was not insured against that kind of event, and rebuilding fell almost entirely on the state.
An ordinance passed in 2003 therefore made insurance against the effects of natural catastrophes compulsory, and everyone calls it CAT-NAT. The idea is straightforward: everyone pays in every year, so that the damage from a disaster is met by insurance rather than borne by the people it strikes.
CAT-NAT is not an extra. For the property it applies to, it is a legal requirement.
Who has to be insured
The requirement applies to buildings and to business activity. It covers:
- anyone, individual or company, who owns a building in Algeria, whether a house, a flat or a whole block;
- anyone running a commercial or industrial business, for their premises and what is in them: fittings, equipment and stock.
The rule follows ownership. The owner insures the building, whether they live in it or let it. A tenant does not have to insure walls they do not own, but can insure their furniture and belongings against the same events under their home policy, which is what Hima’s home insurance offers tenants.
For a shop or a company, CAT-NAT usually sits inside the business multirisk policy, which covers the premises, the equipment and the stock together.
The events covered
CAT-NAT does not cover every natural event, only a list set by law:
- earthquakes;
- floods and mudslides;
- storms and violent winds;
- ground movements, such as landslides and subsidence.
It pays for the direct physical damage one of these events does to the insured property: cracked or collapsed walls, a roof torn off, a ground floor filled with mud, equipment destroyed. It covers repair or rebuilding up to the insured value.
Anything not on the list falls outside CAT-NAT, however violent it is. A neighbour’s pipe overflowing during a thunderstorm, for instance, is a water-damage claim.
What triggers a payout
This is the key difference from the rest of a policy: the authorities first have to declare the event a natural catastrophe officially. The text that declares it sets out what happened, which municipalities were affected and over what period.
- Get everyone to safety and follow the civil protection’s instructions.
- Photograph the damage before clearing up or repairing, and keep damaged items where you can.
- Report the claim to your insurer straight away, even if the official declaration has not been published yet.
- Once the declaration is published, the loss adjuster’s visit is arranged and the claim is processed.
- Payment is made within the time limits set by the regulations, less the deductible.
A deductible set by the regulations always stays with you. Your policy schedule states it.
What sets the price
Two things decide what CAT-NAT costs. The first is the value of the property: the more it would cost to rebuild, the higher the premium. The second is the risk of the place it stands in. The same flat does not carry the same risk in a municipality classed as highly seismic as in one that is barely exposed, nor beside a wadi as on a plateau.
That is why Hima prices this cover wilaya by wilaya, from a seismic zone and a flood exposure level, while the rest of the home policy does not vary that way. The risk map on the home insurance page is illustrative: it shows how the calculation works and does not replace the official zoning.
Declaring a lower value to pay less is a false economy. If you claim, the payout is in proportion to the value you declared.
What CAT-NAT does not replace
CAT-NAT is a cover of its own. Fire, water damage, theft and third-party liability belong to the home policy.
- a kitchen fire is a fire claim;
- a leak from the flat upstairs is a water-damage claim;
- a burglary is a theft claim;
- an earthquake that cracks the walls is a CAT-NAT claim.
At Hima, CAT-NAT is included in every home plan and in the business multirisk policy. There is nothing to add, only the insured value to check against reality.
Good habits
- Keep your CAT-NAT certificate with your papers. It is often asked for at the notary’s, with a loan application or in dealings with the administration.
- Renew it every time it falls due: an expired certificate protects nothing.
- Update the insured value after building work or an extension.
- Keep recent photos of your home and its contents. They make the loss adjuster’s job easier.
Finally, going uninsured has consequences. The law provides penalties for failing to take out the cover, and without a policy there is no insurance payout to claim after a disaster.
A valid certificate, a fair value and some photos: three precautions that count on the day you have to rebuild.
